Wap Review - Covering the Mobile Web Since 2004

How To Hide the UC Browser 8 Virtual Keypad On Samsung, LG and Other Touchcreen Phones

Posted on February 1, 2012 by Dennis Bournique

Last week I did a post explaining how to modify Opera Mini's jad file to hide the unneeded touch keypad that displays at the bottom of the screen on some touchscreen phones. The post included a link to the modified Opera Mini. I received a request asking for a copy of the latest signed Java version of UC Browser modified to hide the keypad.

The process for modifying the UC Browser or any other Java app is exactly the same as what was described in the original post:

1.Download the app's jad file to a PC. You can get UC Browser jad files (signed or unsigned ) at www.ucweb.com/English/UCbrowser/platform.html?platform=java

2. Open the downloaded mini.jad with a text editor or Windows Wordpad

3. Scroll to the bottom of the file and paste in the following lines:

MIDlet-Touch-Support: True
UseNativeTextButtons: hide
ReverseSoftkeys: hide
UseNativeCommands: hide

4. Upload the file to Dropbox.com or another file sharing service that is easy to use in your phone browser. Click here to get a free 2GB Dropbox account (by using this referral link I get an extra 250 MB of storage in my Dropbox which I thank you for).

5. Visit Dropbox with your phone browser and click the modified mini.jad link to download it to your phone.

I posted the modified UC Browser jad at:
dl.dropbox.com/u/4637247/UCBrowser_V8.0.3.107_Java_pf70(Build11112416).jad
Short link: is.gd/uc8touch. To install it, go to is.gd/uc8touch with your phone browser.

Posted in Browsers | Tagged Java ME, LG, Samsung, touchscreen, UC Browser, Virtual Keypad | 4 Comments

How to View the Full Version of Sites in Opera Mini and Other Mobile Browsers

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Dennis Bournique

Originally published in 2009, this post is updated regularly with the latest workarounds for viewing the desktop versions of mobile sites in mobile browsers.

Last update 30-Jan-2012: Added Gmail and Google Reader workarounds. Updated Yahoo Mail, Facebook, MySpace and Orkut workarounds. Removed broken workarounds for CNN, MSN and Friendster. Removed Newsweek because it no longer has a mobile site so no workaround is needed.

One of the biggest frustrations of using the web with mobile browsers is web sites that force them to use dumbed down mobile versions. I have nothing against mobile sites, obviously. I build them and I write about them here at Wap Review. It's not redirecting mobile browsers to the mobile versions of sites that bothers me. The problem is with mobile sites that lack essential features or content found in the equivalent full web versions and don't offer users an easy way to view the full version. As I've been preaching for years, every mobile site needs to include a Full Version link.

Fortunately many mobile sites now include a link to the full version. For sites that don't it's possible to force the full-web versions of some sites in mobile browsers by using a special URL.

Here's a list of websites where getting to the full version with mobile browsers is harder than it should be along with a workaround. Note that the the ful version may not work well or at all in your mobile browser. But if there's a feature or content you like that's missing from the mobile site, it's worth trying the full version.

Facebook: Use facebook.com/home.php or www.facebook.com/home.php?m2w to load the full version in Opera Mini and most other mobile browsers.

Orkut: Has a link to the full version at the bottom of most mobile pages. Or you can go directly to it by using the URL: www.orkut.com/Home.

MySpace: In the iPhone and Android browsers there's a Full Site link on the MySpace Settings page. It's missing in Opera Mini and many other mobile browsers. No problem, just use www.myspace.com/?ucm=true to get to the full version in any browser.

The Yahoo homepage: use yahoo.com/?m=1 to open the desktop version

Yahoo Mail is a special case. us.mc1137.mail.yahoo.com/mc/welcome?ymv=0 loads the full version of Yahoo Mail but only if you haven't upgraded to the "New" version of Yahoo Mail. Switching to the new mail seems to set a flag that forces the mobile version of mail in nost mobile browsers. You must switch back to Classic Yahoo mail in order to restore mobile access. There doesn't seem to be anyway to switch back using a mobile browser, you have to find a PC to do it.

Go into Yahoo Mail with a PC browser. Click the "Mail Classic" link at the top of the page and switch to Classic Mail.
Launch your mobile browser and go to us.mc1137.mail.yahoo.com/mc/welcome?ymv=0 and you should be in Mail Classic.
The key thing is that you must switch your account to use Mail Classic. You need to use a PC browser to make that switch. There doesn't seem to be any way to use the "New" Yahoo Mail on your PC and the Classic version on your phone.

More full version direct links:

Google News: news.google.com/nwshp?hl=en&tab=wn
Gmail: mail.google.com/mail/h/
Google Reader: www.google.com/reader/view/
ESPN: espn.go.com
Wall Street Journal: online.wsj.com/home-page

Hall of Shame: There are a few sites that stubbornly refuse to let Opera Mini users view their full web version.

Microsoft: Is the worst offender. Just about all Microsoft sites including Hotmail, MSN and Skydrive force mobile users to a limited mobile version with no known workaround.
Picassaweb and iGoogle: These two sites are exceptions to Google's generally good job of providing links to the "Classic" non-mobile versions.

If you find workarounds for other sites that are blocking mobile users from their full-web versions please leave a comment and I'll add your discoveries to this post.

For problem sites try changing your browser's user agent

Web sites are able to tell that you are using a mobile browser by reading the HTTP User-Agent header that browsers send. Some mobile browsers let you change the User-Agent to spoof the site into thinking your are using a desktop browser. Here are the browsers that I know about that allow changing the User Agent and how to do it.

Android browser: On most Android phones you can enable a hidden UAString menu item by typing about:debug in the URL bar and pressing Enter. Nothing will seem to change but if you go to Settings and scroll all the way to the bottom you'll see the UASting option. It lets you choose between an Android, Desktop, iPhone or iPad User-Agent

Opera Mobile 11.50 on Symbian and Android: A User Agent option in the Advanced Settings menu lets you choose between mobile and desktop versions.

UC Browser: Java and Symbian 8.0 versions have User Agent option in the Settings (Java) or Settings > Preferences > Network (Symbian) menu.

Posted in Site Reviews | Tagged cnn, Friendster, Full-Web Mobile Browsers, myspace, Newsweek, Opera Mini, Orkut, Yahoo Mail | 54 Comments

LIFE.com's Searchable Mobile Gallery Of Over 10 Million Photographs

Posted on January 28, 2012 by Dennis Bournique

Before TV and the Web, LIFE Magazine was the biggest thing in mass media. The large format pictorial news weekly was the best selling magazine in the US with a weekly circulation of over 13.5 million in the 1940's.

LIFE played a major role in the development of the craft of photojournalism. It published many of the best photographers of the 20th Ccentury including Alfred Eisenstaed, Robert Capa, Margaret Bourke-White, Andreas Feininger, Dorothea Lange, Gordon Parks, W. Eugene Smith and Edward Steichen.

Unable to compete with television, LIFE ceased publication as a weekly in 1972. It resumed several years later as a monthly and published its last issue in 2000.

In 2009, LIFE's parent, Time, Inc., launched LIFE.com as a joint venture with Getty Images. The site draws from the combined LIFE and Getty photo archives of over 10 million images to create a revolving gallery of some of the best current and historic news photos on the Web. The image archive is also searchable.

LIFE's mobile site is more of the same in a smaller scale. It includes image search and a rotating gallery arranged by topic. Formatted for a minimum screen width of 320 px and with page sizes of up to a megabyte, LIFE Mobile works best with smartphone browsers or Opera Mini on large screened feature phones.

Filed in: Wap Review Directory - Entertainment and Leisure/Images
Ratings: Content Usability
Mobile Link: m.life.com

Posted in Images | Tagged LIFE Magazine, photography | Leave a comment

How To Hide the Opera Mini Virtual Keypad On Samsung, LG and Other Touchcreen Phones

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Dennis Bournique

When the Java ME version of the Opera Mini Browser is running on many touch screen phones, an unnecessary virtual keypad appears at the bottom of the screen (image above left). The keypad wastes space, looks ugly and isn't needed with touch aware apps like Opera Mini. The keypad is not part of Opera Mini. It's something your phone adds because it doesn't recognize that Opera Mini is optimized for touch

Here are several ways to get rid of the virtual keypad so your Opera Mini looks like the right hand image above.

I. By using the phone's menu

Some phones have a menu option for getting rid of the keypad. I've only seen it on Samsungs but it may be an option on other brands as well.

Open the folder or menu where you launch Opera Mini. On my Samsung Wave it's called "Games and more".
Look for and tap a button named "Options", "Menu" or something similar or has an icon that looks like a menu, stack of papers or three dots. On the Wave it's the middle button with the three dots in the left hand screenshot below.
In the Options menu (image below, center) look for and tap a button labeled "Use virtual keypad"
On the next screen tap the check mark next to Opera Mini (image below, right) to remove it and then tap the Save button. Now launch Opera Mini and the virtual keypad should be gone

If your phone doesn't have a menu option to remove the keypad continue reading to see if Opera Mini has a fix for your phone.

II. By using an official version of Mini customized for your phone to remove the virtual keypad.

If Opera recognizes and officially supports your phone it should deliver a modified version of Opera Mini that contains code telling your phone to remove the keypad. Opera can only recognize your phone if you download Mini from m.opera.com using the phone's built in browser. If you download Opera Mini from an unofficial source or downloaded it with your PC and copied to the phone using Bluetooth or a cable you have a generic version that's not optimised for your phone.

If you download Mini from m.opera.com with your phone's built-in browser and you still get the virtual keypad, let Opera know so they can fix it in a future release. File a bug report at mini.bugs.opera.com. Also visit people.opera.com/forsberg/detect/ with your phone's built-in browser and fill in the form listing the phone make and model.

If you still have the virtual keypad after downloading from m.opera.com with your phone browser and you don't want to wait for Opera to get around to fixing it, which can take months, it's fairly easy to fix it yourself. Read on for instructions.

III. By modifying the Opera Mini jad file to remove the virtual keypad

You will need a PC, some patience and the ability to follow directions in order to modify Opera Mini. If you lack any of those or want someone else to do the work, skip to the end of this post for a link to an already modified version of Opera Mini.

Obtain an official copy of the Opera Mini jad file. You can download the unsigned versions of Opera Mini directlty to your PC from www.opera.com/mobile/download/versions/

The trouble with unsigned apps is that on most phones you will get annoying pop-up messages asking you to allow Opera Mini to connect. On some phones you only get one pop-up when you first start Opera Mini but on others you get pop-ups every time you click a link which makes Opera Mini almost unusable. A few phones won't allow unsigned apps to connect at all.

There are many ways to download signed versions of Opera Mini to your PC but the easiest is to use the Opera Desktop browser which is available for Windows, Mac OSx and Linux. Download and install it from www.opera.com/browser/ Then:

Launch the Opera PC browser
Go to m.opera.com using the Opera PC browser
Click "Other Download Options"
Click "Select Code-Signing Certificate" under "Options for Opera Mini 6.5:" (or under "Options for Opera Mini 4.4:" if you prefer that version)
Click "All Certificates" (works on most phones. If it doesn't on yours try repeating this process with one of the other signed options)
Click "Download Opera Mini 6.5" and save the file (named mini.jad) somewhere you can find it later
Open the downloaded mini.jad with a text editor or Windows Wordpad
Scroll to the bottom of the file and paste in the following lines:

MIDlet-Touch-Support: True
UseNativeTextButtons: hide
ReverseSoftkeys: hide
UseNativeCommands: hide

Upload the file to Dropbox.com or another file sharing service that is easy to use in your phone browser. Click here to get a free 2GB Dropbox account (by using this referral link I get an extra 250 MB of storage in my Dropbox which I thank you for).

Visit Dropbox with your phone browser and click the modified mini.jad link to download it on your phone.

If that didn't work or you don't have a PC or are just in a hurry, here's a link to my modified version of the signed (All Certificates) version of the Opera Mini 6.5 ,jad file:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4637247/mini.jad

Click the above link in your phone browser to install Opera Mini 6.5 with the virtual keypad disabled.